Is this blog, Disaffected Musings, getting stale, becoming derivative of itself? One of the tenets of writing is to write what you know. What I know is becoming a smaller and smaller subset of what is happening in the world.
When I started blogging on a regular basis more than six years ago automobiles were the major source of inspiration. Major changes have occurred in that realm since then that have led to less inspiration. I think the move to EVs is being forced on us by governments and big car companies. The move away from cars and toward pickup trucks and SUVs leaves me cold. I realize that I cannot stop these trends, but I don’t have to like them and I don’t just have to give in and buy an electric Silverado.
When I woke up this morning I was seriously considering a long hiatus from posting on this blog, thinking that a break would give me a chance to recharge my batteries, so to speak. I still may take a lengthy break; I just don’t know.
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In about an hour and a half my wonderful wife and I will be headed to a Chevrolet dealer we have never visited before for service. Don’t get me started on why I have changed dealerships. Also, for a job like this I cannot find an independent shop that can promise it will do the job with all of the right parts. My 2016 Corvette Z06 needs a brake job: new rotors, pads and sensors. The car is 5 1/2 years old and has almost 15,000 miles. I think the previous owner rode it hard, but it just might be the nature of these brakes that they don’t give a lot of mileage.
As you may remember, my Z06 is equipped with the Z07 package, the main component of which is carbon ceramic brake rotors. Of course, the pads are ceramic as well. The “cost” of the four rotors alone is almost $10,000.
Yes, I could have steel rotors installed. Yes, I am not a stickler for stock. It’s just that since the car is an original Z07, of which fewer than 5,000 were built in 2016, I just don’t want to strip away that part of the car. Besides, the carbon ceramic brakes are better than the alternative.
The cost of the brake job makes the tuning I was contemplating far less likely for this year. While I can afford to do both and more, it’s just not how I operate. I like to have an annual budget and like to stick to it as much as possible.
Wish me luck; I can’t imagine the car won’t be ready by tomorrow.
#BrakeJobThursday
#StaleBlog?
#somanycarsjustonelife
#disaffectedmusings
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Disaffected Musings 
Ouch! That’s gonna leave a mark in the budget.
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Yep, especially when the total bill for the brake job will be closer to $15k than to $10k.
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While I appreciate that you write for us, you also write for you. You bring up an interesting point. I love audio equipment, and like most people can’t afford $500,000 speakers and $600,000 turntables, yet the two major audio mags consistently write about those products. As much as I would like to think that ads drive content, there probably is a little of the writers writing about what they love, the Bombastic 3000 silver speaker cable priced at $60,000.
The world is changing and even I find myself wondering where I fit in. I would not worry too much about the blog. You will do what drives you forward.
Speaking of driving you forward, the car looks BITCHING!!!!
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Thanks, Doc. Your thoughts are apt and very well expressed. The way the Z06 looks in the photo has more to do with Rob Mains, the professional photographer who took the pic, than anything else.
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Catching up on old posts… missed this one. All I can say is, “Wow! $1 a mile for brakes? That is out of my league.”
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You know the saying, “You wanna play, you gotta pay.”
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